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painting door handles is something that can be done successfully.
if your trying to paint a chromed handle then you will need to have a chrome refinishing place remove the chrome for you in order for the handles to be repainted. nothing will stick to chrome!
we have had some handles powder coated and found it's hit or miss being successful.
a guy that used to work for me bought one of a anodizing kit's I think he said it was about 2500$.
I had him do a bunch of different parts for us including some door handles and they came out looking like factory. this was the best way to go as the finish looked good and was very durable.
you could look for a CO that does anodizing and get them done that way.
we have also painted a large number of door handles with success. we would do this on cars what either had color matched handles to the body color or if a customer wanted there handles a specific color not offered by anodizing.
the attention to the prep is very important!
the handles have to start with the bare metal in most cases it's aluminum.
from that point they get sanded with 180 grit paper than primed with 2 to 3 coats of an epoxy primer.
for the prepping of the primer you have to sand ever little nook and cranny if the handles you miss one little spot and all your work will be worthless because the handle will chip and peal.
after the primer is dry you sand the handle again this time with 320 paper and a red scuff pad. and again you must sand every little spot not missing any area.
if you sand thru the primer even in the smallest spot you will need to re primer the handle and start over.
once your finished sand the handle for it's top coating wipe it down really well with a pre paint cleaner the tack it off and spray a coat of sealer then going wet on wet go right to your top coats either single stage or base clear.
before the handles get put back into uses they need to be 100% cured this could take up to a full week depending on what paint you decide to use.
back in the 90's color matching things like door handles to the cars body color was a big thing and I color matched the handles on one of my 944's and hand painted in the little Porsche engraving in the handle black. to this day the handles have no chips or problems with them . I do only drive that car about 1500 miles a year and keep saying once the handles get a chip I will redo them back to the way the factory had them but they still look in perfect shape.
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